This ride's aim is to be fun, inspiring, eye opening, a bit of a challenge, as well as including our non riding family and friends in a get together at the end.

On the same day in Italy the famous L'Eroica ride on the dirt roads of Tuscany, logically it seems like the ideal region to have it's own L'Eroica on our mostly unsealed roads. Like L'eroica, you are encouraged to ride in vintage cycling gear

As the Italian L'Eroica event is held on the strade bianchi roads of the Chianti region, we are riding the unsealed roads of the 'Little Italy' region of the Adelaide hills - Norton Summit to Lenswood like you've possibly never ridden before.

We stop at Anderson Hill winery, Lenswood, at around 11 am where they will be selling pizza from their wood fired oven as well as cheese platters and home-made cakes and coffee. Families and friends are welcome to join us.

Like past years, there extended an ride adding an extra 30 kms or so to the original Norton Summit to Lenswood via Blockers Rd ride. Easy Tiger will guide you out towards Gumeracha on more gravel. This group are arrive at the winery not too long after the basic route group.

If you are riding, up meet at the Tower Hotel carpark Magill at 8.30 am

A note on the course. Thre are some steep sections. The road surfaces will be a mix of bitumen & compacted gravel roads - strada giallo. Accordingly your carbon fibre racer should not be used, but mountain bikes, cross-bikes, touring bikes, single-speeds, and whatever else deemed fit for purpose.

RSVP via the event page. There's also a Facebook event as well that you can share.

Replies to This Discussion

A word to the wise - even though it is possible, and some brave souls have ridden H'Eroica doing so, 23mm racing tyres like Conti GP4000s are not really appropriate. Their sidewalls are particularly susceptible to cuts, plus traction on gravel, particularly corners and on steep climbs is paramount so something wider would be advisable. Lower tyre pressure helps, but that also invites pinch flats.

I ride 25mm Conti GP4Seasons on my road bike, and I would think that is the minimum I would use on these roads. They have a Vectran belt like Gatorskins, but only weigh a tiny bit more than GP4000s. 28mm and up with tread and 70PSI would be ideal, cx tyres at 65-70PSI probably perfect!

Enjoyment is also paramount on this ride, and no-one wants to be stuck on the side of the road fixing flats (albeit in serene landscapes), especially sidewall ones which cost my group 6 punctures and about 45mins, while everyone else scoffed pizza and wine!

We left 2 people behind last year. Their corpses are still there next to some wrecked tyres. I'll always remember you, "fully period correct 1960s Bianchi guy" and "that guy with a British-y accent"... I'm not good with names...

Haha british-y accent, guess that's me. I was riding gatorskins that day and the tiniest shard of rock embedded itself deep into my tyre. I couldn't find it when out on the road, it was invisable to the eye and unfeelable by touch. It wasn't till I was home with a toothpick investigatting every crack in the tyre did I find the culprit. It just shows that with the best tyres you need spares and lots of them!